Oh man, for the second year in a row, we were blown away by the pure family FUN Heavenly Village offers the community. In 13° weather, we rang in the New Year simultaneously with the Ball Drop in Times Square.

Stilt walkers, face painters... there was something for everyone.
One of all our all time favorites is the photo booth. The guys running it were great and we all left with an 8 X 10 color glossy souvenir of the night.
The contrast between fire and ice began with this fantastic group- Fire Groove, a family team known for their daredevil stunts, sexy performers, mind blowing shows, and elaborate costumes. We were impressed!



The LA band Wes Quave had us dancing so much we were actually warm. They are an energetic, talented group who really made the night exciting.
Probably my favorite part of the night was the performance by Fear-No-Ice. This duo of ice carving rock stars never fails to thoroughly entertain and delight. It's so hard to explain why they are so awesome. You'll just have to believe me. Wow!



The evening concluded with a spectacular fireworks extravaganza as we bid 2014 adieu and looked forward to a New Year of new possibilities. There is nowhere I'd rather be than right here in Tahoe with great friends and fabulous fun. Happy New Year. Here's to an incredible 2015!

Our old hometown, 450 miles away and a complete opposite climate, has received their first snowfall in ages. According to one observer, "Two and four inches of heavy, wet snow fell on portions of Temecula and Murrieta. It remains the only time in 25 years at my Murrieta home when enough snow fell for us to build a small snowman.". Light snow also fell near Temecula in 2002, 1990 and 1985. Old-timers recall the seven inches of snow that fell on Old Town in 1967.

At 2 AM I received this photo from my girlfriend, Keri. The text read, "It's snowing and the crew is outside frolicking in their pajamas."
Waiting until morning, our sister-in-law had to frolic, too.
For some reason, our shared weather makes me feel a little more connected to our SoCal friends and family. Wishing you all a wonderful New Year's Eve... no matter what surprises it offers you.

For our final night in Santa Rosa, we actually drove south to Rohnert Park to see the Weaver Family's Holiday lights, a local tradition for over 20 years.

The Weaver family beat out three other families in the first episode of “The Great Christmas Light Fight” on ABC and won $50,000. My girlfriend, Karen, told us about this phenomenal illuminated presentation so we just had to see it. We were not disappointed. Wow.
The house has around 250 characters, and if counting the neighbors who participate in the fun, the neighborhood has around 300 handcrafted characters total.

With over 43,000 lights, we were delighted by the festiveness of this true work of art and love. What a perfect way to end our Christmas holiday.

Our Christmas post has many confused. When did our boys get the ability to grow facial hair? Much to their dismay, they still can't. Those handsome, hairy men are our nephews who came to celebrate Tahoe Style.

Today was Christmas with our sons and their gals in Santa Rosa. Long walks, backyard barbecues, games and a whole lot of family fun time... it was a perfect Haerr Holiday.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday surrounded by those you love.

We'll be celebrating again with our sons on Saturday. We're happy!

We wanted to show our guests some fun sights around Fallen Leaf Lake before the snow comes.

Our house is full of family and tonight, we wanted to celebrate our nephew, Ian's birthday early so we had a party at Tahoe Bowl. What a total blast!

Grandma and most of her grandsons. Sweet!
While our scores were low, our spirits were high. There is just no end of the fun you can have with a bowling ball.
Since the early 60's, people have been having fun at Tahoe Bowl!

Needing to get to my "happy place", we went for a morning hike.

There exists a festiveness in Heavenly Village that we just had to be a part of. Dinner at Base Camp Pizza and then an evening stroll capped our day.

My favorite pre-Christmas attraction is Santa in a 16 foot interactive Snow Globe. It is just one of the many memorable events going on during the two week holiday celebration in the Village.

The other day I proclaimed that Summer was over. Today, it seemed to return enough to encourage explorations.

This was Steve's first visit to this side of Fallen Leaf Lake. The serenity was just what we needed as we strolled along the shoreline.

Appearing like a landscape painting, Trout Creek is the second largest watershed in the Tahoe Basin (40 square miles). The creek meanders from the highest elevations of the Basin, through the urban areas, until it enters Lake Tahoe at the Upper Truckee Marsh.

While there are beds for two more, we're pretty happy with this foursome. The boy, his girl, and their friends are here for a weekend of skiing, hanging out, and making me a content mom... fun stuff.

The holiday season is upon us and remembrances abound.

Sharing our love of Sugar Pine Cones, a Christmas swag was made for Steve's banker.
While sending the last of our holiday mail, I spotted this post box. I'm very tempted to return with a letter to the Jolly Man, himself.
More toasts were made to old friends and new as we dined at Lee and Margaret's.
 Oh, and Christmas sweaters were the required attire.

A slow meander through neighborhoods of lights, was the best conclusion of our magical day.

The Tahoe Queen was the vessel for tonight's concert cruise. What a blast.

Over the last few weeks, the talented duo of Ike and Martin, have rocked the MS Dixie and the Tahoe Queen with a series of free concert cruises. I can't begin to express how wonderful these musical interludes, in the midst of all the holiday madness, lightened our moods and elevated our love of all things Tahoe. Kudos to not only Ike and Martin, but to Aramark Parks and Destinations along with their very hospitable staff on both ships. There really are few things as magical as a lake cruise, surrounded by friends, listening to exceptional music. It was a Christmas present, in of itself. Thank you to all who made it happen.